Prosecutors in West Midlands seeing increased number of rape charges through closer working with police

Prosecutors in West Midlands are steadily increasing the number of rape cases that go to court as a result of working more closely with police forces.

New figures from CPS internal data show that the number of rape-flagged cases charged in the West Midlands Area, which covers West Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and West Mercia increased from 192 in 2021 to 247 in 2022.

Specialist lawyers are increasingly providing early investigative advice to police forces across the West Midlands to agree prosecution strategies in the early days of a crime being reported, tackle any myths or stereotypes about rape and how victims may behave, and fully investigate suspect behaviour rather than over-focussing on perceived weaknesses in victim accounts.

Three key cases involving rapists Thasawar Iqbal, Wayne Scarratt and Luke Sargent, show how the approach has been working.

The approach is central to a new national operating model being rolled out across England and Wales today learning from what has worked in areas like the West Midlands which have piloted the new approaches as part of Operation Soteria.

The new CPS approach also includes better communication with victims and engaging with Independent Sexual Violence Advisors who come along side victims increasing the support available for them as they go through the criminal justice process.

Douglas Mackay, from CPS West Midlands, said: “The launch of the National Operating Model builds on our work over the past few years in the West Midlands and the lessons we have learned from Operation Soteria to improve the handling of rape cases through better victim communication and early investigative advice.

“We are pleased that we can continue to develop and improve the processes which support partnership working with police forces across the West Midlands so that more victims of sexual offences can get justice."

The new approach is shown in examples such as:

Birmingham: A teenager was dragged off the street into a derelict building and raped for an hour by a stranger. The victim memorised details of the man’s appearance and her surroundings. She also kept a £20 note he gave her in the hope it contained DNA evidence. Police enquiries later revealed the suspect had been involved in renovating the empty property and he was arrested within hours of the offence. Although the £20 note did not provide a DNA hit, the victim picked the suspect out of an identification parade, but he claimed they had consensual sex. Focusing on the suspect’s actions, prosecutors and police were able to disprove this with CCTV footage which showed he had been prowling the streets for hours looking for a lone female to target. A smart doorbell also captured him threatening to slit the victim’s throat if she made a sound, which meant the victim was fearful of fighting her attacker off. Our specialist prosecutors are all too aware there is no typical response to rape and every victim can act differently, such as when they are afraid of being killed or seriously injured. This was explained to a jury in order to combat any harmful assumptions about consent. Luke Sargent was convicted of rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration and jailed for life with a minimum term of more than 11 years.

Birmingham: A woman walking home alone in the early hours of the morning was stopped by a man posing as a taxi driver. She got into the car but instead of taking her home he drove to a pub car park and raped her. After the attack, the offender asked for the victim’s phone number. The woman instead agreed to take the man’s phone number so she could use it as evidence when she reported the offence to police. When he was arrested, the suspect denied any wrongdoing and later claimed the victim flagged him down. However, prosecutors and police had agreed early on in the investigation they would need to act quickly to gather CCTV footage and cell site analysis of his mobile phone, which disproved this. The evidence showed him following the woman in his car and blocking her path before offering her a lift, which she initially refused. He continued to persistently follow her until he eventually persuaded her he was a taxi driver who would drive her home. At the time of the attack, the suspect was already on bail for a similar offence against another woman. Thasawar Iqbal was found guilty of several offences including kidnap, rape and sexual assault and jailed for 17 years with a further five years on licence. 

Staffordshire: A 13-year-old girl found a phone number written in graffiti in a park. She contacted the number and exchanged messages with Wayne Scarratt in which she claimed she was 15 and agreed to meet up. When she turned up he grabbed her from behind, punched and stamped on her face, and raped her. He then stole her phone, money and bus pass. The victim managed to alert a passing cyclist who called the police. Scarratt, who had only been released from prison two weeks before the attack, initially denied he had ever met the victim. He later claimed he thought she was 18 and that they had consensual sex, but prosecutors and police proved there were several messages where the victim told him she was a child and he was convicted of rape, assault by penetration, assault, theft and breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).